Cycling The Globe

Distance: 86.46 km
Ride time: 5:25:15
Average: 15.98 km/h
Total: 23745 km

Last night we had heard some noises and seen lights not far away from our tents. We stayed awake for a while trying to figure out what and who it was. This morning we could see that it was indeed some other travelers who had put up their own tents. Oh well, nothing to be afraid of.

It was a cold morning as we put on hats and gloves cycling into town for breakfast. In Junín we had coffee and croissants, which seems to be the usual breakfast for the people of Argentina. Cyclists need a bit more, so we also had a bowl of oats next to a supermarket. From our spot we could see that a procession was about to take place. It turned out to be the local farmers showcasing their horses. It was quite a sight to see the young boys and girls riding the huge horses.

We then said goodbye to Route 40 and turned left directly towards Lanín Volcano and the border with Chile. On the way we passed a Mapuche community, the local indigenous inhabitants of this part of Argentina and Chile. Unfortunately the same problems as with the aboriginals in Australia seem to exist here. We only saw one person, but he was very drunk.

At the same time the views over Lanín in front of us was so amazing that it was hard to keep the hands on the handle bars.

The sealed road stopped and we were back on the dirt. It was tough cycling on the bad ripio and with the dust from the passing cars, but the views more than made up for it!

For the night we decided to stay at a camp site in the National Park right at the foot of the volcano. At these altitudes of around 1200 meters it is getting cold at night, so Michael made a big fire. We knew there would be rats, so we put the food in the trees as we had been advised. Luckily the food was still there in the morning, and I had been too tired to pay much attention to the sounds of rats running around at night.

Another amazing day on the road. I love this life!